Llanos Theatre
1409 Crickets Avenue,
Lubbock,
TX
79401
1409 Crickets Avenue,
Lubbock,
TX
79401
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Additional Info
Architects: Harvey C. Allen, Howard C. Allen
Firms: Allen & Allen
Functions: Office Space
Previous Names: Teatro Llanos
Nearby Theaters
The Llanos Theatre was located on Avenue G (renamed Crickets Avenue), two blocks south of Broadway at 14th Street. It opened in 1943 and closed in 1964. It was operated by Park Theatres, headed by Hiram Parks as a Spanish language theatre. This theatre might have operated under a different name prior to being opened as the Llanos but I can locate nothing at this address.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
In 1963, the Llanos was operated by Hiram Parks of Lubbock. Mr. Parks also operated the Falls in Grand Falls (TX), the El Capitan in Lubbock and the Marine Theater and South Side Drive-In in Fort Worth.
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I grew up in Lubbock in the 1950s and 1960s and never heard of this theater. Either they ran no ads in the local paper, or it was open much earlier than the dates indicated.
The venue is a little easier to find under its actual operating name of el Teatro Llanos. It is very rarely referred to as the Llanos Theatre - although both names are correct - as it was a Spanish language theater that opened during World War II to reach an underserved populace of Lubbock. El Teatro Llanos appears to have launched during World War II when veteran Brownfield, Texas theater owner Hiram Parks of Parks Theatres decided that this was a potential audience he could reach… and movie prints he didn’t have to fight against chain operators to get. But the theater got an unwelcomed visitor who tore a hole in the screen after business hours on March 22, 1945 - generally the mark of a union projectionist leaving a calling card that they frowned upon the usage of non-union projectionists.
The exact figure of Hispanic population in 1940s Lubbock is unknown since it wasn’t recorded; but non-White population was between 4,000 and 5,000 and best estimates placed the total at around 1,700 which was enough for the theater’s creation in an existing building. The swelling post-War Hispanic population led to a second Spanish language hardtop theater, the new-build El Capitan by Parks, a Spanish-language Drive-in, and a Spanish-language newspaper in 1950. The former el Teatro Llanos building which would have been at 1409 Crickets Avenue - the street renamed for legendary backing band of hometown hero Buddy Holly - but was long gone.